Prof. Sally M. BensonProfessor, Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University

Professor Benson studies technologies and pathways for reducing energy system emissions while maintaining abundant, secure and affordable energy supplies. From 2021 to 2023 she was on leave from the University to serve as the Energy Division Director and Chief Strategist for the Energy Transition at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. From 2013 to 2020, she served at the Director and Co-Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University. She also served as the Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project from 2009 to 2019. Prior to joining Stanford, Benson was Division Director for Earth Sciences, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences and Deputy Director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Professor Benson currently is a member of the Breakthrough Energy Innovation Council, a Board Member of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, a trustee of the Packard Foundation and an Advisor to several other non-profit organizations and laboratories. In 2023 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has received numerous awards including the John Tyndall Award from the CO2CRC, the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the International Society of Porous Media, the Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development Lifetime Achievement Award for Educating Future Energy Leaders, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers International Award for Health, Safety, and Environment.

Dr. Nuki Agya UtamaDirector for Energy Policy & Head of Asia Zero Emission Center (AZEC), ERIA
Former Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE)

Dr. Nuki Agya Utama is a distinguished energy and sustainability expert with deep experience in regional energy cooperation, transition policy, and pragmatic decarbonization pathways across Asia. Currently serving as the Director of the Asia Zero Emission Center (AZEC) under the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), he leads initiatives to support ASEAN and partner countries in crafting realistic, inclusive, and secure low-carbon strategies.

Dr. Nuki previously served as the Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), where he played a pivotal role in shaping energy policies and roadmaps for Southeast Asia, including on the ASEAN Power Grid, energy security frameworks, and regional energy outlooks.

He brings a strong commitment to solving the energy trilemma—security, affordability, and sustainability—through coordinated regional strategies, innovation in bioenergy and hydrogen, and the development of carbon pricing and transition finance mechanisms. His leadership spans cross-sectoral programs covering power systems, transport, and industry, with a focus on balancing economic growth and climate commitments.

Dr. Nuki is a frequent speaker at international energy forums and a key contributor to regional policy platforms. His recent work includes advancing decarbonization roadmaps, promoting green industrial zones, and facilitating the development of voluntary carbon market guidelines and clean fuel alternatives like sustainable aviation fuel and green hydrogen.

A passionate advocate for practical, country-tailored approaches, he emphasizes data-driven planning and inclusive stakeholder engagement to avoid "wrong" investments that risk undermining environmental and economic security in developing economies.

Dr. Timur GÜLHead, Energy Technology Policy Division,
International Energy Agency (IEA)

Timur Gül, a German national, was appointed Chief Energy Technology Officer of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in October 2023. In this capacity, he oversees IEA analysis of innovative new and emerging clean energy technologies and their supply chains across a range of sectors. Mr. Gül is also Head of the Energy Technology Policy Division, with responsibility for the IEA's flagship technology publication Energy Technology Perspectives, the IEA Energy Innovation Forum, the IEA's Technology and Innovation Advisory Board as well as the IEA's Technology Collaboration network. Having joined the IEA in 2009, Mr. Gül previously was a lead author of the IEA's World Energy Outlook (WEO). Prior to his time at the IEA, he was a researcher at Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.

Timur Gül holds a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland. He also holds a Master degree in Environmental Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden, and a Diploma in Environmental Engineering from Stuttgart University, Germany.

Mr. MITSUOKA TsugioChairman, Carbon Recycling Fund

Joined Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (currently IHI Corporation) in 1980. In 2007, he became the general manager of the civil engine division of the Aerospace Business Headquarters of the company, in 2008 he became the deputy general manager of the Aerospace Business Headquarters of IHI Corporation, in 2013 he became the executive officer and general manager of the Aerospace Business Headquarters of IHI Corporation, in 2016 he became the representative director and president of IHI Corporation, in 2020 he became the representative director and chairman of the board of directors of IHI Corporation, in 2024 he became the chairman of the board of directors of IHI Corporation and in 2026 he became the Advisor of IHI Corporation (current position). In June 2023, he became the chairman of the Carbon Recycling Fund.

Speakers
Mr. KONO TakashiDirector, GX Planning and Promotion Office, GX Policy Group,
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan

Since joining the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan in 2007, KONO Takashi has held a variety of policy positions spanning energy, climate, digital transformation, organizational reform, and industrial policy. During his first seven years at METI, he worked on energy and natural resource policies, including legislative and budget planning, disaster response, and international climate negotiations. He later spent five years promoting digital policy initiatives, including "Connected Industries", data governance frameworks, and the establishment of the Digital Architecture Design Center (DADC) within the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA). Then, he took the lead of organizational and human resource reforms at METI for three years. He later became responsible in July 2024 for the overall coordination of manufacturing industry policy and responses to U.S. tariff measures. He has served in his current position since July 2025.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Science from the University of Tokyo, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California San Diego.

Speakers
Mr. HASEGAWA TakahiroDirector, Climate Change Project Office, Ministry of the Environment

Takahiro HASEGAWA joined Japan's Ministry of the Environment in 2000 and has worked on climate change policy, Fukushima reconstruction, and environmental impact assessment, as well as serving at the OECD in Paris and the Embassy of Japan in Berlin. He currently leads efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of climate mitigation technologies, from demonstration to policy and institutional design.

Speakers
Mr. MIYAMORI TakeshiDirector for Building Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism /
Counsellor's office for Building Regulations, Housing Bureau

Takeshi Miyamori joined the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in 2004. He has since worked primarily in the Housing Bureau, City Bureau, and other departments, overseeing housing, building, and urban policy. From 2017 to 2020, he served in the Prime Minister's Office as Executive Assistant to the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister. From 2022 to 2025, he led the Sustainable Buildings Unit at the OECD. Since April 2025, he has served as Director for Building Environment in the Housing Bureau of MLIT, where he is responsible for policies promoting energy efficiency and decarbonisation in housing and buildings. Most recently, he led work on amendments to the Building Energy Efficiency Act, enacted and promulgated in July 2026, including the establishment of a whole-life carbon assessment framework for buildings.

Speakers
Prof. Vikram VishalConvenor, DST-National Centre of Excellence in CCUS / Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai / Founder and Director, UrjanovaC Pvt Ltd / Professor-in-Charge, ASPIRE – IIT Bombay Research Park

Prof. Vikram Vishal serves as a Professor and Convener of the DST-National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. He is also the founder and CEO of UrjanovaC Private Limited - a clean energy and net-zero solutions company. Prof. Vishal specializes in decarbonization, energy transition and climate change mitigation, and serves as the key National Expert on CCUS and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for intergovernmental negotiations at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A university gold medalist, four-time national award and two-time Fulbright fellowship recipient, he has authored over a hundred scientific research publications, over a dozen national and international policy and research roadmaps, and has received five patents.

Speakers
Dr. Klara HelstadDeputy Head of Research, Innovation and Business Development Department, Swedish Energy Agency

Leadership roles in energy agency and forestry and forest industry. Strong focus on industrial decarbonization and energy transition. PhD in Forest Industrial Production Systems.

Speakers
Dr. OHISHI YoshihikoDirector, Circular Economy Department,
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

Dr. Yosihiko Ohishi is a Director in the Circular Economy Department at the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a leading public research and development (R&D) funding agency in Japan. Having previously worked at the Technology and Innovation Strategy Center (TSC) and the Biotechnology and Materials Department, he now oversees R&D projects in the area of carbon recycling in his current position.

Before joining NEDO, Dr. Ohishi worked for 14 years at Sumitomo Chemical, where he primarily developed and industrialized catalysts for producing key petrochemical feedstocks. From January 2023 to March 2025, he worked for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), serving in the GX Investment Promotion Division and the Energy and Environment Innovation Strategy Office. There, he managed R&D projects related to carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including direct air capture (DAC), enhanced weathering, and blue carbon. He also engaged in studies to create a CDR market.

Speakers
Dr. YAMAMOTO MorioDirector of the Industrial Technology & Research Laboratory,
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED

Dr. Morio YAMAMOTO joined Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. after completing his doctoral course at Kyushu University in 2000. At Sumitomo Chemical, he has been engaged in batch process development and R&D management for specialty chemicals, mainly chemical pesticides and ICT materials, at the Process & Production Technology Center of the Corporate Division (currently the Industrial Technology & Research Laboratory), as well as in the management of the manufacturing site for small-molecule pharmaceutical CDMO products at the Gifu Plant, which belongs to the Advanced Medical Solutions Division.

He is currently the Director of the Industrial Technology & Research Laboratory, where he leads not only the aforementioned batch process development, but also the development of continuous processes focused on technologies for reducing environmental impact and the development of inorganic material processes, including battery materials. He also serves as the R&D leader of the Green Innovation Fund project, "Development of a CO₂ Separation and Recovery System from Industrial Exhaust Gas Using Membrane Separation."

Speakers
Prof. SATOKAWA ShigeoProfessor, Zero Emission MIRAI Research Center, University of Yamanashi

I am a specialist in the fields of catalytic chemistry and chemical process engineering. Currently, I am engaged in the research and development of catalytic technologies to produce fuel from renewable energy-derived hydrogen and atmospheric CO₂.

Speakers
Dr. David WakerleyCo-founder & CTO, Dioxycle

David Wakerley is CTO and co-founder of Dioxycle. Dioxycle is developing next-generation electrified chemical manufacturing technologies that produce cheaper, cleaner and sovereign critical chemicals, using electricity and widely available feedstocks (CO, CO₂ emissions, salt streams). Dr Wakerley wrote his PhD at the University of Cambridge in biomass conversion and hydrogen production, before achieving postdoctoral research at Collège de France. He received a Lindemann Trust Fellowship (one of three awarded annually across all scientific fields to British scientists), held during his second postdoc at Stanford. He has 2,500+ citations, with publications in Nature Energy, Nature Catalysis and Advanced Materials, and is the inventor of 10+ patents in CO₂ capture and conversion.

Speakers
Mr. Nils Erik Rasmus MarnfeldtChief of Staff, Paebbl

I'm Chief of Staff at Paebbl, where I work with our leadership team on strategy, internal operations and cross-functional execution. Paebbl is a climate-tech company developing mineralisation technology that turns captured CO₂ into future proof construction materials.

Speakers
Mr. Arnava Kishore SinhaExecutive Vice President, ACME Group

Arnava Sinha, as Executive Vice President of ACME, heads the Business Development and Commercial functions of the Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Businesses of the Group. He is responsible for planning, commercial strategy, pipeline growth and green certification of the businesses related to green hydrogen and its derivatives, including green ammonia and green methanol. Under his leadership, ACME has created first-time-in-the-industry solutions that have resulted in binding offtake commitments of more than 1-milliontonnes of green molecules for customers across the world.

Arnava has over 25 years of leadership experience spanning across India, the Middle East, EU and the USA in various functions including Sales & Commercial, BD, Strategy, Operations, Planning and HR in companies such as Slb and Coca-Cola. Prior to joining ACME, he served as the VP & Head of BD for AM Green / Greenko.

Arnava holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS, Pilani.

Speakers
Dr. KANDA TetsushiDeputy Director, Kajima Technical Research Institute, Kajima Corporation

Dr. Tetsushi Kanda is a Deputy Director at Kajima Technical Research Institute. Dr. Kanda received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan, USA, 1998.

KaTRI is well known to initiate industrializing emerging advanced structural materials in construction such as ultra-high strength concrete and high-performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites in its history, with which Dr. Kanda took a leading role in large scale application. Dr. Kanda's research interests are extended to shrinkage cracking controlling technologies and carbon neutral technologies for structures. In these research areas, Dr. Kanda maintains an approach in which advanced fundamental technologies are bridged to construction projects and optimized there in terms of practical and economical aspects.

Speakers
Mr. Nils AltroggeSenior Director of Innovation, On

Nils Altrogge is the Senior Director of Innovation at On.He leads the innovation team at On, responsible for the science driven engineering of On's future product and manufacturing, and technology concepts. Having spent over eleven years with On's R&D team, Altrogge previously led several teams from Sports Science, Technology Engineering and Innovation Strategy. Today, his work around reducing the company footprint focuses on advancing renewable materials and innovative breakthroughs that rethink how products are being created and made - such as CleanCloud® (foam made from carbon emissions) or LightSpray™.

Speakers
Mr. Patrick (Paddy) Allen LoweFounder and CEO, Zero Petroleum

Paddy Lowe, a graduate of Cambridge University, is widely recognized for his achievements as an innovator and technical director in Formula One. A score of 12 World Championships and 158 race wins is amongst the very highest in the history of the sport, including leading the Mercedes team in 2014/2015/2016 to the most successful triple ever recorded: 51 wins from 59 races. Paddy is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Paddy's capability in Formula One has now been translated to the world of sustainable energy where in 2021 he has already secured the Guinness World Records® title of "First Aircraft Powered by Synthetic Fuel" within the company Zero Petroleum which he founded in 2020.

Speakers
Prof. Vikram VishalFounder and Director, UrjanovaC Pvt Ltd

Prof. Vikram Vishal serves as a Professor and Convener of the DST-National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. He is also the founder and CEO of UrjanovaC Private Limited - a clean energy and net-zero solutions company. Prof. Vishal specializes in decarbonization, energy transition and climate change mitigation, and serves as the key National Expert on CCUS and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for intergovernmental negotiations at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A university gold medalist, four-time national award and two-time Fulbright fellowship recipient, he has authored over a hundred scientific research publications, over a dozen national and international policy and research roadmaps, and has received five patents.